FBI uncertain whether Trump was hit by a bullet or struck by shrapnel during assassination attempt

The FBI isn’t quite sure if Trump got shot in the ear after all.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told representatives during a committee hearing this week that the former president’s injuries could have been caused by shrapnel related to the shooting. He did not conclusively rule out the possibility that Trump was hit by a bullet.

Though conspiracy theories initially ran rampant in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, most were debunked as new information came to light. But, one detail that Trump himself clarified is still seemingly unclear.

“With respect to former president Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray testified before the House judiciary committee. “As I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else.”

Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots at the former president, injuring two rally attendees and killing Corey Comperatore. A bullet that seemingly passed behind Trump was even captured in a photo by a New York Times photographer.

While some reporters initially claimed that the former president was struck by glass fragments, citing Pennsylvania law enforcement sources, those allegations were quickly dismissed as Trump and law enforcement confirmed that he had been shot.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump claimed on Truth Social shortly after the shooting.

The FBI has taken the lead in an investigation of the incident, including the botched security measures that have already resulted in Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation after a disastrous congressional hearing.

Wray shared other details in the hearing, including that Crooks had searched for details on Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination of President John F. Kennedy before his attempt.